Friday, December 02, 2016

Paul Krugman, who hasn't been right about anything in the last two decades, claims without any evidence, the white working class is due for a rude awakening when the safety net is shredded under President Trump and a Republican Congress. I guess he thinks blacks, Asians, and Hispanics are either too rich or too poor to be included in his bullying of the working class--some members of which earn more than college grads who are paying off their loans.

Speaking of jobs, how does Krugman keep his? If he paid attention, he'd realize that the so called "safety net" has always been bi-partisan but has 80 overlapping programs causing graft and waste. (Obamacare which mandated purchase of insurance or jail and a fine was supported just by Democrats, and not even all of them.) Krugman should know that a job is always better than a government program. And Donald Trump has promised Americans they can keep their jobs. Perhaps it will be an empty promise like "keep your insurance," or "you can keep your doctor," but he's made a good start by promising tax relief to encourage American companies to come home.

The left keeps pouncing on "the white working class" which they've made synonymous with white supremacists even though exit polls show Trump only got about 1% more of the white vote than Romney did, whom the left portrayed as a rich elitist appealing only to the wealthy. Trump picked up the traditional Democrat stronghold in the so-called "rust belt" (ugly name, blue wall is better) which got no relief in 8 years of Obama whom they voted for--TWICE. Meanwhile, Mrs. Clinton lost a lot of the most liberal Democrats to spoiler Jill Stein. Plus, people don't like being called racist, homophobic and deplorable just because they want a good job. All the left promises is a bigger safety net, higher minimum wage, and retraining. That doesn't pay the mortgage or the college tuition for the kids.

A lot of the so called "safety net" programs benefit the middle class most. Welfare benefits going to single parents with incomes less than half of the poverty level have decreased by 35 percent over the 1983 to 2004 period, whereas benefits to single parents making almost twice the poverty level have increased by 80 percent.

“America’s safety net can sometimes entangle people in soul-crushing dependency. Our poverty programs do rescue many people, but other times they backfire.” Nickolas Kristof.